73 responses so far

• 1 12-04-2008 at 11:25 am
  
  Gustavo said...

  Strong showing by GRAN TORINO.

• 2 12-04-2008 at 11:26 am
  
  N8 said...

  Score! WALL-E in the top ten!

• 3 12-04-2008 at 11:26 am
  
  Mark Kratina said...

  Interesting……. Brolin for Best Supp. Actor over Heath and no Revolutionary Road for 10 best films.

  I’m a little confused as to why Slumdog won best film but then is not included in the top ten films. So they’re really giving us the 11 best films?

• 4 12-04-2008 at 11:31 am
  
  m. said...

  Big showing for cint eastwood. Boring!
  Sean Penn was robbed!

• 5 12-04-2008 at 11:32 am
  
  Guy Lodge said...

  I’m sure I’m not the only one confused by what’s going on with “Gran Torino.” There’s been a lot of word since the screening that it’s some kind of disaster, and now… this.

  What gives?

• 6 12-04-2008 at 11:33 am
  
  josh said...

  penelope cruz won for vcb! :)
  heath ledger was robbed!

• 7 12-04-2008 at 11:36 am
  
  N8 said...

  Remember that none of last year’s NBR winners for acting went on to win at the Oscars (but they all went on to be nominated). hmm…

• 8 12-04-2008 at 11:36 am
  
  Kevin said...

  So the Best Film, Best Foreign Film, and Best Documentary were not listed in the respective Top 10 or 5 lists? So are they actually the Top 2-11 and 2-6 lists?

• 9 12-04-2008 at 11:38 am
  
  Lee said...

  Good for Viola Davis but Best Breakthrough Perfromance Award must be a little bit of a downer since she has been around for years and has a Tony under her belt.

• 10 12-04-2008 at 11:45 am
  
  Jeff Cash said...

  No Heath Ledger…WHAAAAAAAAA?
  Is there some technicality with the NBR that I’m not aware of that prohibits posthumous awards? That is very odd…

• 11 12-04-2008 at 11:45 am
  
  Guy Lodge said...

  I’m pleased for “Slumdog,” but generally it strikes me as a fairly ho-hum set of winners.

  It certainly doesn’t clear up the Oscar picture at all, but neither does it introduce any new possibilities.

  Next!

• 12 12-04-2008 at 11:47 am
  
  Jamie said...

  Yay for Penelope Cruz! I think her performance has been one of the most unanimously praised and consistently lauded since Vicky Cristina Barcelona premiered at Cannes. Definitely deserved, although I find the omission of VCB from the Top 10 (/11) puzzling.

• 13 12-04-2008 at 11:51 am
  
  Rob said...

  Its like always they are first out of the park with these. I remember the year All The Pretty Horses won for screenplay. A WTF moment.

  Clint. Hilarious. I mean he’s just a tedious oscar machine. And no awards body will ever convince me he’s a better actor than Sean Penn.

• 14 12-04-2008 at 11:53 am
  
  Mr. F said...

  Good list, but why did they not give s.actor to heath ledger! At least TDK made it to the top 10

• 15 12-04-2008 at 11:58 am
  
  James said...

  YAWN.

  Guy, the NBR have a huge Eastwoody :P. They always have. I mean, look at 2006, after all. I’m not altogether surprised.

  But overall, I completely agree. These winners are dreadfully dull. But I think NBR is staying dry and is going back to their roots of not really representing the BIG picture.

  Good for Brolin, but I still feel Franco has stronger resonance this season. But this could help them both get in, which would be very nice.

  I dunno how they came up with that shitty Top 10 though. BAR is funny and all, but that’s crazy. Worse yet, of course, is Changeling and Defiance (I assume, but we’ll see).

  Gran Torino winning for Screenplay means nothing. For example, 2006 again: The Painted Veil and Stranger Than Fiction won. They can be odd in this category.

  The overall love baffles and bugs me too, but with the negative buzz, there’s still hope against it. I’ll be scared if it gets Globe nods though. Or an LAFCA/NYFCC mention….

• 16 12-04-2008 at 11:58 am
  
  KING351 said...

  ANNE HATHAWAY!!!!!!!!!

• 17 12-04-2008 at 12:03 pm
  
  Robert Hamer said...

  Heath Ledger not named Best Supporting Actor. What. The. Fuck.

  Burn After Reading and Changeling the top ten films of the year? Give me a break!

• 18 12-04-2008 at 12:08 pm
  
  James said...

  Kris, I just read your commentary. What about Franco AND Brolin? It’s very plausible, especially if Milk receives lots of love. But I think Franco’s ISA, Satellite (lol, shhh), and other breakthrough mentions give him strength in the race. Still, both making the cut seems like a good bet.

• 19 12-04-2008 at 12:12 pm
  
  nick said...

  Burn After Reading was a perfect black comedy.

  Changeling was classic, old-school cinema.

  Very pleased to see Hathaway get the win.

• 20 12-04-2008 at 12:14 pm
  
  Kristopher Tapley said...

  Updated with the just-released top 10 indies.

• 21 12-04-2008 at 12:16 pm
  
  AdamL said...

  Burn After Reading? What the hell?

  Why no I’ve Loved You So Long in foreign film?

  In Bruges for Best Indie? I walked out.

  This is clueless.

• 22 12-04-2008 at 12:18 pm
  
  Markku said...

  Screwy results. And rigged, as usual. Good for Hathaway and Brolin.

  And why is Ledger’s absence such a profound shock? Contrary to commonly held belief, he did not give the only performance by an actor in a supporting role this year.

• 23 12-04-2008 at 12:22 pm
  
  Chris said...

  I don’t see why Heath Ledger should have won. I mean, seriously, his performance was great, but so were others.

  Get over it. Just because he’s passed away, doesn’t mean no one else can win.

• 24 12-04-2008 at 12:23 pm
  
  nick said...

  In Bruges is one of the best films of the year. So is Snow Angels. Nice to see them get recognized.

• 25 12-04-2008 at 12:25 pm
  
  Chris said...

  Oh, and shouldn’t it be “Roman de Gare”, or have NBR voters seen a different film with a strikingly similar title?

• 26 12-04-2008 at 12:27 pm
  
  Chad said...

  Horrific list of independent films.

• 27 12-04-2008 at 12:31 pm
  
  Harmonica said...

  I for one enjoyed the results. In fact, I can say I almost love it. “Gran Torino” is one of my most anticipated films and it’s nice to see it getting praise. And Clint winning for his acting was great. But people seem to forget that there were two films in that list that REALLY got the love: Slumdog Millionaire (which I particularly don’t care about) and-guess it- BENJAMIN BUTTON!

  Fincher’s film has got to be THE movie I’m dying to watch this year, and it got three awards: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and one of the Top 10 Movies of the Year. The NBR shows us that Slumdog, Benjamin Button, and Milk (Josh Brolin supporting? BEST AWARD OF THE NBR! I mean, come on guys, Heath doesn’t need this, he’s already nominated. I’m glad they finally gave Brolin’s tour de fource the praise it deserves) are basically “locks” for the Best Picture Oscar. And while it doesn’t really mean much that Revolutionary Road & The Reader were not among the Top 10 and The Dark Knight was…hell, I was thrilled about it. The Dark Knight for the 2009 Oscar. I still believe.

• 28 12-04-2008 at 12:32 pm
  
  Kristopher Tapley said...

  “Just because he’s passed away, doesn’t mean no one else can win.”

  That’s not the issue at all, Chris. You’ll find little argument in many quarters that this performance is the best of the year.

• 29 12-04-2008 at 12:39 pm
  
  James said...

  Josh Brolin’s tour-de-force?!?!

  Okay, he was great and all, but LOL. He was just a good, complex supporting character that was very limited in its expressions. That was hardly a “tour-de-force”, which, if anything is, it’d be his W. performance.

  And Harmonica, Gran Torino also “really got the love”, as it has the same amount of recognition as TCCOBB: 3.

• 30 12-04-2008 at 12:44 pm
  
  Chris said...

  I know, Kris. But many people seem completely blinded by the fact that Ledger should win in acknowledging that other actors actually gave brilliant performances too.

  Daniel Day-Lewis gave the best performance of 2007, but still nobody would have called a George Clooney win “odd” last year, unless they disliked “Michael Clayton”. I sense that this season will have many unfair treatment towards anyone winning a supporting actor award who isn’t Heath Ledger. And the only way I can explain that blindness to myself is by saying that people want Ledger to win, because he won’t have another chance to do so.

• 31 12-04-2008 at 12:57 pm
  
  Brian Kinsley said...

  Jeez. I loved loved loved Ledger’s performance, and it does deserve to win, but there is nothing wrong with spreading the love in the precursors, ESPECIALLY when it goes to a deserving actor like Josh Brolin, who has been on fire like no one else recently.

  Having a top ten indie list is somewhat ridiculous, although there are some damn fine films mentioned.

  Slumdog vs. Button vs. Milk. I’d say Slumdog wins picture and Fincher wins director at the end of the day.

  If Eastwood steals Rourke’s thunder, I’m gonna be pissed.

• 32 12-04-2008 at 12:57 pm
  
  Zan said...

  The problem is, no real supporting actor has touched Ledger this year. I’m no “TDK” fanboy, but I can say without hesitation that he’s better than anything else I’ve seen this year, especially Brolin. Brolin was easily overshadowed by Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch. Brolin’s Dan White was really just a much more benign version of his “American Gangster” character.

  Oh, and Franco is utterly forgettable in it.

• 33 12-04-2008 at 12:59 pm
  
  Diego said...

  Yessss!!! Changelng Top 10!!!!

• 34 12-04-2008 at 1:04 pm
  
  James said...

  Zan, I’m glad I’m not alone in feeling that way about Brolin’s character. If not for the drunk scene, there wasn’t much to it, really. Penn stole every scene from him.

  However, Franco = forgettable? BS, sir. He was great.

• 35 12-04-2008 at 1:06 pm
  
  Billyboy said...

  Major surprises:

  1.Burn After Reading
  2. Best Actress for Anne Hathaway
  3. No Revolutionary Road, No Winslet.
  4. Best Actor!!!??? Best Original Screenplay! No way…
  5. No Heath…

  Happy for Penelope and VCB making it into the Top Ten Indie… I like that list a lot more than the Top Ten.
  And still waiting for a proper review of Gran Torino, Kris… Still think he’s the one to beat?

• 36 12-04-2008 at 1:07 pm
  
  Patrick F said...

  This Gran Torino thing is bad for Dark Knight. We’ve seen how WB is willing to throw cinematic lambs to the slaughter to feed the Eastwood machine before.

  Call me crazy, but I’m feeling an Anne Hathaway win.

• 37 12-04-2008 at 1:18 pm
  
  Rob said...

  Please calm down. An NBR win does not always equate to an actress taking a prize.

  We all know SAG, the Globe and BFCA are a better indication.

• 38 12-04-2008 at 1:20 pm
  
  daveylow said...

  “Call me crazy, but I’m feeling an Anne Hathaway win.”

  ************
  I think Anne Hathaway winning an Oscar is a long shot. She would be much better off just being nominated this year and continue building her career. I don’t deny she’s very good in Rachel Getting Married but it’s not an Oscar winning part at all. It’s more of a Laura Linney nominated part.

• 39 12-04-2008 at 1:21 pm
  
  Patrick F said...

  I know that Rob,
  I just have a feeling..

• 40 12-04-2008 at 1:27 pm
  
  lulu8888 said...

  I am so happy for Hathaway!!!!!! She gave one of the best performances this year.
  I just hope the other awards do not forget the very memorable & brilliant supporting performance of Bill Irwin in “Rachel Getting Married”. It was perfection.

• 41 12-04-2008 at 1:31 pm
  
  Kristopher Tapley said...

  I disagree with any assessment of Brolin’s “Milk” turn as “nothing special.” I think it’s his finest work to date. He really got under the skin of what could have been a simple, boilerplate “villain” character. It’s all there in Milk’s dialogue, too: “I think he’s one of us.” It’s dropped in briefly but it’s sincere, and I think Brolin nailed those complexities.

  The “drunk” scene was just icing on the cake, bu if that’s all you saw, you missed the best parts of the mixture

• 42 12-04-2008 at 1:34 pm
  
  G said...

  I’m ok with Changeling on the list. I thought it was an outstanding film, and the backlash is more because we’re using a Clint-o-meter to judge it. Australia does not really deserve to be there, and Frozen River, Rachel and Vicki Cristina got their due on the Indie list. There’s really not much left. I guess Happy Go Lucky would have been a better choice than Burn After Reading, but that’s more a matter of comedic taste. The list is pretty accurate on my book. I think Revolutionary Road probably ain’t that good. Sam Mendez has proven to be a mediocre director since American Beauty, and I think RR will ultimately flop at the box office and follow the path of the similarly titled Reservation Road.
  I think Slumdog Millionaire has cemented its Best Picture nomination along with Milk and Benjamin Button. The final two slots are up for grabs. I think one slot will be a battle between Gran Torino and The Wrestler, and it depends on the box office reception of both. The final slot is a battle between The Dark Knight and Frost/Nixon, and depends on the box office success of the later. The Reader, Australia, RR are out of the race. You’ll see. They’re all gonna end up disappointing critically and box office-wise.
  I think Clint and Anne have secured their nominations, but far from clinching the win. I think Brolin proves a compelling threat to Hedger’s posthumous Oscar. If someone’s gonna steal it from Ledger it’s him. I think Penelope won the Oscar already in my book. I still think Kirstin Scott Thomas deserves a win more than Hathaway, but a French-language actress just won so it’s tricky. I think Cate Blanchet or Meryl Streep will go home with the gold in the end, but an interesting race nonetheless. Nominees will be Melissa Leo, Anne Hathaway, Scott Thomas, Streep and Blanchet. With possibles including Jolie and Hawkins. It’s a great year for Best Actress!
  Best Actor is gonna be Penn. Nominees will be Eastwood, Rourke, Langella and Pitt. Sorry Leo. With Rourke, Langella and Eastwood as very strong possibilities for an upset. But the relevance of Milk will push Sean Penn to his second Oscar.
  Best director is the most unpredictable this year. It seems like it’s Boyle or Fincher. With Nolan and Arronofsky happy to be nominated. But I think Gus Van Sant will take home the gold. I think he’s more likable than Fincher as a person and Slumdog is a two director thing.
  I think Slumdog or Benjamin Button are battling it for the big win, but The Dark Knight i think is being underestimated. I think Slumdog will take home the Adapted Screenplay, Milk the Original Screenplay, but The Dark Knight will be Best Picture. Button takes home all sorts of technical awards.

• 43 12-04-2008 at 2:12 pm
  
  Speaking English said...

  Major respect to them for recognizing “Burn After Reading,” easily one of the best, most devilishly fun and hysterical films of the year. Not to mention genius.

  Well done.

• 44 12-04-2008 at 2:37 pm
  
  Jonathan Spuij said...

  A strange list but it shows the love for Wall-E too. The actors offer surprises mostly but won’t have any effect on the race IMO. The season has just officially begun but this says nothing except that Gran Torino is still a contender.

• 45 12-04-2008 at 2:49 pm
  
  Patrick said...

  Unreal. Eastwood has been giving the same performance for 40 years. How any group of film critics, fans, followers or whatever they are, could award him “Best Actor” is so laughable. Penn, Langella, Rourke, Jenkins, and many others were robbed.
  So was Heath Ledger and Kristin Scott-Thomas.

• 46 12-04-2008 at 2:55 pm
  
  Scott Ward said...

  Chris, did you say that no one would have considered it odd if Clooney had beat out DDL last year. I distinctly remember reading an article a week or so before the awards where George himself jokingly conceded the award to DDL.

  If DDL had lost that, the place would have erupted in boos.

• 47 12-04-2008 at 3:05 pm
  
  John Foote said...

  Chris…I do not think that is the case at all…Ledger was unusually brilliant, the sort of performance like Day-Lewis last year we see only every few years — he should have won.

• 48 12-04-2008 at 3:14 pm
  
  Rob said...

  John, I think he will win plenty of awards this year. I’d imagine the Globe, BAFTA and Oscar as a start.

• 49 12-04-2008 at 3:18 pm
  
  JAB said...

  Burn after reading? REALLY!? that might have been the most disappointing movie I’ve seen so far this year. I will admit, there were some knockout scenes of laughter, but with that cast and crew i expected gold, and got popcorn.

• 50 12-04-2008 at 3:21 pm
  
  JAB said...

  as for Brolin in Milk: he’s good, but as far as I’m concerned, Franco is the standout supporting role. I just felt Dan White was way underwritten. I’d nominate both personally, but if i had to choose i’d choose Franco.

• 51 12-04-2008 at 3:49 pm
  
  Brian Kinsley said...

  The more we debate who from Milk gets a supporting actor nom, the more I feel it pushes closer to pole position at SAG Ensemble.

• 52 12-04-2008 at 4:27 pm
  
  Aaron said...

  I agree with somene earlier that Anne Hathaway is the dark horse of the best actress race. With Variety’s iffy review and Entertainment Weekly’s flat out bash of Meryl Streep in Doubt, I think the great Streep might be a little too vulnerable.

  Kate Winslet still stands a chance, but with the lukewarm responses to both of her films–and the category confusion–it could be troublesome for her….

  …watch out for Anne Hathaway–it’s a career defining performance, in the veins of Halley Berry in Monster’s Ball, Charlize Theron in Monster, and Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line. She’s one everyone needs to watch.

• 53 12-04-2008 at 5:04 pm
  
  Patrick said...

  Aaron, you are so right.

• 54 12-04-2008 at 5:26 pm
  
  KING 1 said...

  I agree with Aaron too…but Melissa Leo could definately take it…i’m predicting her….

• 55 12-04-2008 at 5:52 pm
  
  Billyboy said...

  Yes, Aaron has a point… I wouldn’t mind some trailers with “Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway” in it…

• 56 12-04-2008 at 6:00 pm
  
  Hardy said...

  Lukewarm reception? Maybe for The Reader but not for Revolutionary Road.

• 57 12-04-2008 at 6:04 pm
  
  Chris said...

  @ Scott Ward: I wasn’t talking about Oscar, but about awards in general. Clooney did after all win some of them, and deservedly so. Obviously if Clooney had won the Oscar that would have been “odd”, but nobody complained about him taking some precursors whereas now people start kicking and screaming where Ledger didn’t win. Seriously, there’s more to come and he’ll surely get his fair recognition.

• 58 12-04-2008 at 6:56 pm
  
  Patrick said...

  I haven’t felt so outraged (about Heath and Sean) since…….last year when Daniel Day-Lewis lost to Clooney.

• 59 12-04-2008 at 7:44 pm
  
  Stylee said...

  How does Wall-E two mentions helps the movie gain momentum towards a Best Picture Nom???

• 60 12-04-2008 at 8:11 pm
  
  Zan said...

  How did Clooney deserve any? I can count at least 5 or 6 better lead performances from last year.

• 61 12-04-2008 at 9:14 pm
  
  James said...

  He was solid and they probably felt guilty for a lack of 2000 love, perhaps. Idk, I’m shooting for the moon here :P.

  “as for Brolin in Milk: he’s good, but as far as I’m concerned, Franco is the standout supporting role. I just felt Dan White was way underwritten. I’d nominate both personally, but if i had to choose i’d choose Franco.”

  I completely agree JAB. I’m not discrediting Brolin in anyway, but I very much feel that his role is like that of Vera Farmiga’s in The Departed. It was criminally underappreciated, because she gave life to a thankless role, just as he did. But it just doesn’t feel like something they would nominate by itself. I have him as my #5 right now, and think if he scores the nom, it’ll be partially due to W. and NCFOM.

  Also, I agree with you Brian about the ensemble. It would be worthy of the win, definitely.

  I wonder if Doubt continues its downward spiral, if Hoffman will begin to fade. I’ve been skeptical of his nom from the get-go.

• 62 12-04-2008 at 9:15 pm
  
  head_wizard said...

  Not a bad list, I don’t get the Changeling love. And surprised by Revolutionary Road not being in the top ten. And I really don’t get the Broslin love( I think Emile Hirsh was better) and why Cruz is worthy but it was somewhat expected. But Slumdog winning is fine by me and still need to see Grand Toro and TCCOBB

• 63 12-04-2008 at 9:22 pm
  
  Patrick F. said...

  I wish I was as articulate as Aaron on the Hathaway thing. Ever since I saw her in The Princess Diaries, I thought “She has the Julia Roberts effect.” meaning, it’s not that she’s an incredible actor as much as she is an entertaining one. She does interesting things, has interesting facial features, and she’s just interesting to watch, to the point that she makes piffle like Get Smart and Havok incredibly watchable. The Actors branch really like actresses that are fun to watch. How else do yo explain Sally Field winning twice?

  I’ve always suspected, once they were given the chance to award Hathaway , they would, and in a big way. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon. but the Monster/Walk The Line Paralells are right on.

  As far as Eastwood winning, I’ve been preparing myself for this for months, much in the same way that a death row inmate prepares one for the chair. Aside from a reprieve from the Governator, there’s nothing we can do to stop it.

• 64 12-04-2008 at 9:32 pm
  
  JAB said...

  james, i’m glad you agree with me, but i have to differ in opinion a little. Vera Farmiga did bring life to that role that could have easily gone to somebody like Scarlet Johannson or Eva Mendes so they could deliver a subpar performance in a relatively unimportant role. But in Josh Brolin’s case, he was spot on in a crucially important role, that really could and should have had more to it.

• 65 12-04-2008 at 9:50 pm
  
  Patrick said...

  So…is it geezers and babes again?

• 66 12-04-2008 at 9:56 pm
  
  Aaron said...

  I agree, Patrick, I feel this Eastwood win for best actor is a foreboding for things to come. I believe he will win out of the great amount of respect he obviously has from the Academy. When I first saw the Gran Torino trailer, needless to say I was unimpressed. Actually, to be honest, I laughed when I saw Clint’s classic “crunched up, angry” face…how many times have we seen it and I still can’t take it seriously?

  I’m just worried about Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet. This year, particularly, there seems to be just this overwhelming hype for one or the other to win! Has anyone thought that this could eventually be detrimental for them? I just feel like they have so many expectations to live up to, and even for actors as good as them, anyone can fail to live up to the hype. Which is why I could see Anne Hathaway snag the award—and I wouldn’t be angry for I thought she gave a majestic, mature performance. It’s one of the few that have remained with me throughout the season…

  …and, on a sidenote, with all this Clint Eastwood lovefest going on, it got me to thinking that maybe we shouldn’t discard Angelina just yet. With all this hoopla surrounding him, I feel like it could really benefit her. You know nearly EVERY single academy voter will be popping Changeling into their DVD players this winter simply because it’s a Clint Eastwood film. She gives an impressive performance, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if her name popped up on the final five ballot…

• 67 12-05-2008 at 3:15 am
  
  interstellar said...

  well, I like the results.

  but hathaway…!

• 68 12-05-2008 at 9:38 am
  
  Patrick said...

  Aaron….that would be unfortunate. Kristin Scott-Thomas, Sally Hawkins or Melissa Leo may be left out if that scenario plays out. Unfortanate.

• 69 1-09-2009 at 8:23 am
  
  Bethany said...

  Gran Torino was fabulous. I will truly miss Eastwood when his old ass kicks the bucket. Hopefully he dies in a fashion much like his movies. Long, masterful, intellectual, hilarious, and sweet.

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